Blatter hopes to hand out Ballon d’Or trophy

Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he is “excited” to hand out the 2015 Ballon d’Or trophy.

The 79-year-old is set to face the FIFA ethics committee on Thursday and is hoping they will lift his suspension, or at the very least not extend it.

Blatter’s 90-day suspension ends on January 5, 2016 with the gala event for the trophy set to take place on January 11 in Zurich.

And the Swiss wants to be there to hand out the prestigious award.

“I am very excited to hand out the trophy this year,” he told Mundo Deportivo.

“I hope that after my appearance before the FIFA Ethics Committee tomorrow that everything turns out fine and they can lift my suspension of 90 days, or at least not extend it.”

Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Neymar, along with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo are the three finalists for the 2015 Ballon d’Or.

“Fortunately I don’t vote because the three are very good,” Blatter continued.

“Lionel Messi would make history if he won his fifth Ballon d’Or, something no-one has achieved and it would stay there, difficult to repeat.

“He’s a great player that does amazing things with the ball, but Cristiano and Neymar are both fantastic.

“The Brazilian [Neymar] has surprised me with his quality and how he has adapted to the Barcelona play and Europe. In Brazil at last year’s World Cup they told me many great things about him and I followed him closely.”